FINANCIAL EXPLOITATION OF OLDER ADULTS: INTERDISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVES ON NEW DIRECTIONS

Abstract Financial exploitation of older adults is a topic that has drawn increased public recognition in recent years. Despite advances in research, services, products, and policies working to prevent financial exploitation of older adults and support victims, interdisciplinary perspectives are needed to strengthen interventions. This symposium will bring together scholars and practitioners to address the issue of financial exploitation from a variety of disciplines, all united in their mission to detect and prevent financial exploitation of older adults and to support victims. The first two presentations in the symposium will highlight conceptual understandings of financial exploitation of older adults, including a revisionary model of financial exploitation of older adults that includes emerging cognitive, cultural, and other contextual factors (Presentation 1) and a study of financial vulnerability and mental health as they are associated with financial exploitation, particularly when perpetrated by trusted others (Presentation 2). The remaining presentations will describe research from cross-sector, cross-industry, interventions. Presentation 3 will describe study findings about a helpline for concerned persons of exploitation victims that dually offers services directed to primary victims of financial exploitation. Presentation 4 will highlight a study of case characteristics associated with a new adult protection law designed to protect older and vulnerable adults experiencing exploitation. Presentation 5 will describe a study of financial professionals’ experiences with, and attitudes toward, financial exploitation of aging clients. Findings from all five presentations will point to next steps for research and intervention across multiple disciplines, including social work, law and policy, healthcare, and financial services.


CONSTRUCT VALIDITY OF FRABONI SCALE OF AGEISM IN A CHINESE-MAJORITY SAMPLE FROM SINGAPORE
Yuanyuan Cao, Jie Xin Lim, Ringo Ho, and Yin-Leng Theng, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore The 29-item Fraboni Scale of Ageism (FSA;Fraboni et al., 1990) was constructed to measure three dimensions of ageism (Antilocution, Discrimination, and Avoidance) using samples from Canada.The factor structure of the FSA has been challenged in recent studies using US samples (Rupp et al., 2000) and Chinese samples (Fan et al., 2020), resulting in alternative factor structures.The current study aimed to test the different factor structures proposed in these past studies with a sample from Singapore, a Chinese-majority multicultural country.Data from 311 individuals, aged between 21and 55-year-old were collected.They completed the 29-item FSA using a six-point agreement scale.Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the goodness-of-fit of the aforementioned factor structures.The results indicated that none of three models provided a good fit to the data.A follow-up exploratory factor analysis with parallel analysis suggested a 3-factor structure.Thirteen out of the 29 items were found to have at least one salient cross-loading after Geomin rotation.These findings suggest that the samples likely interpreted and responded to the items differently resulting in different itemfactor configurations, implying the impact of regional culture on the construct validity of FSA.Researchers aiming to quantify ageism in their population using FSA are advised to examine the FSA factor structure prior to using it.

CORRELATES OF RETIREMENT EXPECTATIONS AMONG BABY BOOMERS IN US AND SOUTH KOREA: APPLICATIONS OF TREE-BASED METHODS
Linh Dang, and Briana Mezuk, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States 75 million US Baby Boomers are expected to retire by 2030.Retirement decisions are a result of a complex interplay of multiple psychosocial factors, including individual (demographics, health characteristics), family (marital status, spousal characteristics), work-related factors (job characteristics, workplace environment), and cultural contexts surrounding retirement.However, traditional regressions of retirement expectations limit the inclusion of a large set of factors and their interactions.This study employed decision trees and random forests to explore the salient psychosocial correlates of retirement expectations among Baby Boomers in two countries that differ in retirement norms and policies, US and South Korea.Sample included adults aged 52-65 from the 2016 wave of the Health and Retirement Study (n=1,192) and the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (n= 766).Expectation (probability) of working full-time for the next 5-10 years was modeled continuously (range: 0-100).Prediction models of expectations included 52 psychosocial factors relating to individual, family, and work characteristics.Mean expectations were higher in Koreans than US adults (71.4% vs. 36.7%).Age, self-reported probability of living to age 75, and work hours strongly predicted expectations in both US and Korean adults.While type of employment, Social Security or private pension benefits, and employment tenure were important predictors in US adults, flexible work arrangements were important in Koreans.Differences in features predicting retirement expectations between the US and Korean adults suggest opportunities for country-specific programs and policies aimed to promote workplace environment and pension benefits for successful retirement planning in the Baby Boom generation.

FINANCIAL EXPLOITATION OF OLDER ADULTS: INTERDISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVES ON NEW DIRECTIONS Chair: Julie Miller
Financial exploitation of older adults is a topic that has drawn increased public recognition in recent years.Despite advances in research, services, products, and policies working to prevent financial exploitation of older adults and support victims, interdisciplinary perspectives are needed to strengthen interventions.This symposium will bring together scholars and practitioners to address the issue of financial exploitation from a variety of disciplines, all united in their mission to detect and prevent financial exploitation of older adults and to support victims.The first two presentations in the symposium will highlight conceptual understandings of financial exploitation of older adults, including a revisionary model of financial exploitation of older adults that includes emerging cognitive, cultural, and other contextual factors (Presentation 1) and a study of financial vulnerability and mental health as they are associated with financial exploitation, particularly when perpetrated by trusted others (Presentation 2).The remaining presentations will describe research from cross-sector, cross-industry, interventions.Presentation 3 will describe study findings about a helpline for concerned persons of exploitation victims that dually offers services directed to primary victims of financial exploitation.Presentation 4 will highlight a study of case characteristics associated with a new adult protection law designed to protect older and vulnerable adults experiencing exploitation.Presentation 5 will describe a study of financial professionals' experiences with, and attitudes toward, financial exploitation of aging clients.Findings from all five presentations will point to next steps for research and intervention across multiple disciplines, including social work, law and policy, healthcare, and financial services.

FINANCIAL EXPLOITATION IN OLDER AGE: A REVISIONARY MODEL Duke Han, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, United States
Financial exploitation can have a devastating impact on the independence and wellbeing of older adults, yet the reasons why some older adults experience financial exploitation remain elusive.Recent work informed by the fields of neuropsychology, neuroscience, behavioral economics, and epidemiology has increasingly demonstrated links between financial vulnerability in older age and serious health outcomes such as cognitive decline and incident Alzheimer's Disease.Because of this, research on financial exploitation in older age has progressively been made a public health priority, and this has led to a substantial expansion in knowledge on the topic.Despite this beneficial growth in understanding, gaps in knowledge, misconceptions, and ageist viewpoints continue to persist.To address these, this presentation will (1) discuss the potential role of age-associated cognitive changes in financial exploitation, (2) review neuroimaging findings from our group and others relevant to understanding possible brain changes involved, and (3) highlight cross-cultural, interpersonal, and other considerations that need prioritization in future research endeavors.In conclusion, we will present a revisionary model of financial exploitation in older age which considers not only the potential vulnerabilities of the older adult, but also the persons committing the financial exploitation and the contextual factors that may contribute to poorer outcomes.This revisionary model can more effectively inform interventions for the prevention and mitigation of financial exploitation in older age.

TRUST AND BETRAYAL TRAUMA IN OLDER ADULT FINANCIAL EXPLOITATION
LaToya Hall 1 , Peter Lichtenberg 1 , and Jennifer Gomez 2 , 1. Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, United States, 2. Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States Despite a growing body of literature on financial exploitation (FE) and older adults, considerably less research has focused on sub-populations of older adults' experiences with substantiated financial exploitation, particularly exploitation by trusted others.A 2023 study conducted through Wayne State University's Successful Aging through Financial Empowerment (SAFE) program used a sample of 95 clients ages 55 and over to examine factors associated with participants' experiences of substantiated FE perpetrated by trusted others.The SAFE program was created in early 2017 to provide no cost assistance to older adults addressing the financial fall out associated with being financially exploited.The study used betrayal trauma theory (BTT) as a conceptual framework in an attempt to understand how financial vulnerability and mental health are associated with FE committed by trusted others.The study used a cross-sectional design to investigate group differences among 32 (33.7%) older adults who were victims of financial exploitation by trusted others and 63 (66.3%) older adults who were victims of financial exploitation perpetrated by strangers.The group of older adults who were victims of FE by trusted others had lower functional ability scores, higher stress and financial exploitation vulnerability scores and lost more money on average than those victimized by strangers.These results suggest older adults who have been victimized by trusted others are more vulnerable and need more assistance with functional tasks than those victimized by strangers.The present study also supports the notion that BTT provides a valuable framework for understanding vulnerability to various types of FE.

THE ELDER ABUSE HELPLINE FOR CONCERNED PERSONS (CPS): HOW SERVICES FOR CPS IDENTIFY AND MITIGATE FE AND ABUSE Lisa Rachmuth, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York City, New York, United States
Elder abuse can profoundly impact older adults who experience it.Historically, little is known, however, about another group of individuals in the lives of older adults: nonabusing family members, friends, and neighbors, referred to as "Concerned Persons" (CPs).Through the Elder Abuse Helpline for Concerned Persons (the Helpline), a program at Weill Cornell Medicine, the CPs receive supportive counseling for themselves and referrals to ongoing services for themselves and the Older Adults who are abused.Financial exploitation and abuse often go unrecognized by many.Previous research on the first year of data from Helpline calls indicated that CPs might be critical in enabling support and help-seeking for elder abuse victims, and may be an essential intervention target group to help promote help-seeking behaviors of Older Adult Financially exploited victims.This presentation will highlight findings from a recent study involving secondary analysis of de-identified Helpline data that a) explored characteristics of CPs, alleged victims/abusers, as well as types and circumstances surrounding alleged abuse; and b) characterized the range of services and interventions requested and provided to concerned persons.Primary questions of interest included ones such as, "What are CP's relationships to alleged victims/abusers?; How do the patterns, types, and circumstances surrounding alleged abuse vary across characteristics of CPs and their relationships to alleged victims/ abusers?; What are the common concerns of CPs and the type of services requested by CPs?" Findings from this study improve our current understanding of CPs in the lives of alleged elder abuse victims and CPs' help-seeking behaviors.